It's all in the shuffle

I went through a friend breakup in the weeks before I printed this artwork, and I was sad in a way that is less codified than romantic breakup sadness. Luckily I have a wonderful family (found and by birth) who understood and loved me through it. Although I wasn't feeling particularly motivated to make art, I had this beautiful video on my camera roll from a little while ago of myself and a (different) friend playing cards in our neighbourhood park. It was pretty and that was enough to get me started. I followed the card motif through to the border design and the title. "It's all in the shuffle" or "good/bad shuffle" is something my friend and I say to each other to explain who is winning, beyond skill. It feels very applicable to life as well. 

This design was also used on the tote bags for the very last Royal Bison Art and Craft Fair. If you're an Edmontonian, you might spot them in the wild!

Ps. The second linocut artwork in one of the product photos is by my friend Dana Martin